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Senior Court Reporter
High Court judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi and Judicial Service Commission (JSC) secretary Mr Walter Chikwana yesterday told the court that issues of consent were not raised when Marry Mubaiwa was making arrangements to legally marry Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.

Mr Chikwana and Justice Mutevedzi said this when they separately testified as State witnesses in Mubaiwa’s ongoing trial on charges of violating the Marriages Act after she allegedly misrepresented that VP Chiwenga had consented to wed her at a time he was ill.

Yesterday, Mubaiwa, through her lawyer Ms Beatrice Mtetwa, had sought for a postponement of the matter saying she was not feeling well and needed time to see a doctor.

Prosecutors Mrs Tendai Shonhai, Mr Michael Reza and Mr Tafara Chirambira opposed the application arguing that Mubaiwa should have visited the doctor first before attending her court hearing.

The State argued that attending court first meant she could comprehend trial.

Magistrate Mr Lazini Ncube ordered that the trial continues and asked Mubaiwa to attend to her health when the court adjourns.

First to testify was Justice Mutevedzi who chronicled how he was engaged by the then Judge President, Justice George Chiweshe who told him that Mubaiwa had indicated that she wanted to wed the Vice President.

“I was called by Justice George Mutandwa Chiweshe who said that the Vice President and his wife wished to be joined in matrimony. He asked me to arrange for the marriage to be solemnised by a magistrate since they wanted it to be done at their house.

“It is allowed and there is nothing unusual about that request. I told him that we could facilitate and also told him that I was going to personally solemnise that marriage.

“I took that decision because judges are not marriage officers and by virtue of my position as chief magistrate then, I became the highest marriage officer. I felt sending a junior would be disrespectful to the Vice President,” he said.

Justice Mutevedzi said he then told the then Judge President that some identification particulars of the parties were needed.

Justice Chiweshe then sent his clerk with a sealed envelope that contained Mubaiwa and VP Chiwenga’s IDs.  Justice Mutevedzi indicated that he also told Mr Chikwana that there were some documents that were needed.

“When I told Mr Walter Chikwana that they wanted their marriage soleminised, he was taken aback and said the Vice President was not feeling well, but he obtained the documents for me,” he said.

Justice Mutevedzi said on July 2, 2019 he was accompanied by JSC deputy secretary Sithembinkosi Msipa to VP Chiwenga’s residence in Borrowdale Brooke, Harare.

He said they were denied access into the residence because there were no prior arrangements that were made to afford them accessibility.

“We were not allowed to enter and our calls to the VP’s residence were not picked up. I then cancelled the unissued marriage certificates on July 4,” he said.

Justice Mutevedzi told the court that no one contacted him since the cancellation of the certificates until investigations were instituted against Mubaiwa.

“I never spoke to the accused or the Vice President. They never consented before me. There are oaths that they had to take before signing the certificates.

“We had not reached that stage. The parties have to be present when they take their vows and that cannot be done in the absence of both parties,” he said.

Justice Mutevedzi said he was motivated to go to VP Chiwenga’s residence and prepare the marriage documents because he had no reason to doubt the word of the Judge President, who had told him of the request.

Under cross examination by Ms Mtetwa, Justice Mutevedzi indicated Mubaiwa never presented any document to him, but they came to him through Justice Chiweshe.

Mr Chikwana told the court that he came to know about the planned wedding when Justice Mutevedzi called him requesting for identification particulars.

He said although he often spoke to Mubaiwa, they had never discussed the wedding.

“I received a call from the then acting chief magistrate Mutevedzi saying that the VP wanted to wed. He said there was information they wanted, which was the address and their pictures. He requested me to secure that information and I looked for the cell numbers of the VP and the accused.

“When I called, we shared pleasantries and told her of the requirements, which she promised to send. I don’t recall her talking about the wedding arrangements. I usually speak to the accused but honestly I don’t remember talking about arranging a wedding.

“I first heard of the wedding when Justice Mutevedzi called asking for pictures and address,” he said.

Mr Chikwana told the court that they never discussed issues of consent during the time he was speaking to Mubaiwa.

A director in Ambassador Uebert Angel’s office, Ms Nyarai Bwanya, who happens to be Mubaiwa’s former personal assistant, also testified.

She told the court how Mubaiwa broke the news of VP Chiwenga’s consent to legally marry her when they were in India.

She told the court that VP Chiwenga was receiving medical treatment in India at that time.

“We were in India when the VP was admitted and she said the VP had agreed to the wedding. She told us that it was not going to be a big event because the VP was not feeling well.

“I remember she contacted some people from JSC and had planned to obtain the wedding rings from Newlands. “Unfortunately, the wedding did not go ahead because the VP was airlifted to SA,” she said.

The matter continues today.